On CNN, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick defended President Trump after the tariff roll-out led to a massive stock market sell-off.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Mr. Secretary, nice to have you on again.
00:02Are these economic experts, I decided, wrong in your view about a recession?
00:06I think they're not counting the factories that are going to be built.
00:11President Trump yesterday announced $5 trillion in domestic commitments to build factories
00:16in America, right?
00:18Remember domestic production, GDP.
00:21People forget if you buy a Toyota that's made in Japan, that's not domestic production.
00:27Domestic production is factories built here, so you've got $5 trillion committed to be
00:32building factories in America, and that's going to drive growth.
00:36If you divide that by our $30 trillion economy, that's a whole lot of growth, and you're going
00:41to get that starting in the fourth quarter, and that's going to drive this U.S. economy
00:45because it's American workers who are going to build those factories.
00:48Let's dive a little bit deeper into that because, you know, in the past when Trump put in tariffs,
00:53there was Foxconn, right?
00:54He announced that investment.
00:55That didn't come to fruition.
00:57And what you are laying out, and certainly it would be good if there's more investment,
01:00but what you're laying out is this sort of manufacturing renaissance.
01:04But as you well know, for businesses it's not so simple, right?
01:07They have to find the workers.
01:09Labor is more expensive here.
01:11There's concern that trade policies could change in the next few years, and then why
01:15invest all this money now if it's just going to change down the road?
01:19What do you say to those companies?
01:22U.S. policy to protect American workers is what Donald Trump is all about.
01:29So what you're going to see is factories are going to be built here.
01:32Why should U.S. policy basically suggest that you can find the cheapest labor in the world
01:39with the worst labor conditions in the whole wide world, the worst pollution, right?
01:46No environmental rules at all.
01:48Let's go build there because it's really cheap, and we'll sell it to the great American
01:52economy.
01:53How about we build it here?
01:55We use robotics here.
01:57It's cheaper than cheap labor overseas.
01:59You're going to see something completely different.
02:02You're going to see the greatest economy in the world.
02:05The renaissance will be the greatest factories in the world, high tech people.
02:10What are the jobs Americans are going to have?
02:12We are going to have mechanics who fix robotics.
02:14We're going to have engineers and electricians who work on these great high tech factories.
02:19These are high tech jobs.
02:21All you need is a high school education and training, and they're going to have great
02:25jobs, great paying, and this is who Donald Trump is going to build for.
02:29And I understand this is your selling point, but companies right now, I mean, they're just
02:33not buying it.
02:34They don't want to risk putting all this money into doing what you said, especially when
02:37you're looking at a future of AI and automation doing a lot of the things you just lay out.
02:42How does this concept of bringing back this manufacturing renaissance in the U.S., which
02:47might be a noble endeavor for sure, square with the future of AI and really looking at that?
02:52No, that's the whole point.
02:53So you imagine what you're talking about is all these companies who have their manufacturing
02:58in the cheapest labor market in the world for, right, and the least environmental rules
03:04in the world, and they're being celebrated, and the time is to have those great companies
03:09who are great designers of products for America.
03:13Bring it back to America.
03:14Use robotics, use factories in America, and they're all committed.
03:18That's what the five trillion is.
03:20Apple committing.
03:21Remember, Apple last time, they got an exemption and they didn't build, right?
03:25This time, there are no exemptions.
03:27They're going to build in America.
03:29These high tech factories are going to come to America.
03:32Remember with NAFTA, we lost 90,000 factories.
03:36It's time for those factories to come home.
03:38It's time for the American workers to get employed, and it's time for Donald Trump to
03:41take care of them.
03:43Finally, someone is going to take care of the American workers, and his name is Donald
03:47Trump.
03:48Right.
03:49And certainly, you know, we're going to be tracking this, and I'm sure the administration
03:50will, to make sure that they actually follow through on what they're saying they're going
03:53to do.
03:54But in the interim, you know, this takes long.
03:56Unraveling globalization takes a long time.
03:59This isn't just an overnight fix.
04:00And in the interim, prices will go up.
04:04You even hear from the president himself, there will be short term pain.
04:08We're going to see in the next few days likely prices going up at the grocery store.
04:11What do you say to those Americans who put Donald Trump in office to lower prices, not
04:15raise them?
04:16So energy prices down, interest rates down, your mortgage costs, mortgage costs down,
04:23right?
04:24These things are energy.
04:25The price of the gas pump, lower.
04:27Oil down 6, 7%.
04:28Why aren't you talking about the fact that oil in the gas pump is going to come smashing
04:32down?
04:33No tax on tips.
04:34No tax on overtime.
04:35Right.
04:36No tax on Social Security.
04:38But these are all coming now.
04:40I just want to drill down on prices.
04:41These are all coming now.
04:42Because as you all know, Secretary, a lot of Americans put Donald Trump in office because
04:45they were unhappy with prices at the grocery store.
04:48Right?
04:49They didn't feel like Biden did enough.
04:50They put Trump in office to fix that.
04:51And a few days, we're about to see prices go up at the grocery store.
04:55What do you say to those Americans?
04:56I don't think that's going to happen.
04:57You don't think?
04:58Can you guarantee it won't happen?
04:59Watch.
05:00No one can guarantee anything, but that's very nice.
05:03I wish I could guarantee whatever you'd like.
05:04But the fact is, wait, let's take one moment.
05:05Who pays for the tariffs?
05:06Wait, wait, wait.
05:07You asked me a question.
05:08Let's go through it.
05:09OK?
05:10Our farmers are blocked from selling almost anywhere.
05:13We can't.
05:141.4 billion people in India, and we can't sell them corn.
05:17Europe won't let us sell beef.
05:19Australia won't let us sell beef.
05:20Why?
05:21Because of hormonal chemicals.
05:22Yeah.
05:23No, no.
05:24That's not why.
05:25It's because they want to just protect.
05:26I know.
05:27They want to say, oh, what, the seeds are different?
05:28Right.
05:29Other people in the world are using seeds.
05:30That insects.
05:31Come on.
05:32This is nonsense.
05:33This is all nonsense.
05:34What happens is they block our markets.
05:36When we open those markets, our volumes grow.
05:39Our farmers will thrive, and the price of groceries will come down.
05:43Let Donald Trump run the global economy.
05:46He knows what he's doing.
05:47He's been talking about it for 35 years.
05:49You got to trust Donald Trump and the White House.
05:51That's why they put him there.
05:53Let him fix it.
05:54I understand.
05:55It's broken.
05:56Let him fix it.
05:57Our $36 trillion deficit, right, is going to ruin our children's lives and our grandchildren's
06:02lives.
06:03Let Donald Trump fix the American economy.
06:07Let me just follow up with you.
06:08When the first time he did tariffs, we did see prices rise on products that were tariffed.
06:12That's according to Goldman Sachs compared to non-tariff products.
06:14We have the lowest inflation ever.
06:16The manufacturing sector went into a mild recession in the fall of 2019.
06:22What gives you so much certainty, and by the way, this is more aggressive and the economy
06:26is in a different place with inflation and consumer sentiment.
06:28What gives you so much certainty that this is going to work and that this isn't going
06:32to hurt the everyday American?
06:34The largest tariff and trade barrier country in the world is China, and they don't have
06:40inflation.
06:41So these things don't occur the way people suggest they do.
06:45This is a reordering of global trade for the benefit of America.
06:50We have been, these people have all been living in our house.
06:53They've been driving our car.
06:55They come by and visit, open our fridge and eat our food whenever they want.
06:58They've taken advantage of us.
07:00Today was the day of the beginning of saying, I'm sorry, you can't just live for free off
07:05of us.
07:06You have to pay.
07:07And what's going to happen is the United States of America will get stronger.
07:11Our economy will grow much, much faster than the rest of the world.
07:14All right.
07:15Secretary, hold on one second.
07:16We have to get a break in.
07:17We're not going anywhere because we're going to continue this conversation.
07:18Where we're going is our markets are going to be up.
07:20And I understand that it's tough for the global markets, but our market, you should be betting
07:24on Donald Trump and the United States market.
07:26We are going to do much, much better.
07:29I don't think there's any chance that President Trump's going to back off his tariffs.
07:34This is the reordering of global trade, right?
07:38That's what's going to happen.
07:39But the world should stop exploiting the United States of America.
07:44Let our farmers sell their products.
07:46Let our ranchers sell their products.
07:47They won't take lobster in Europe or the UK.
07:50I mean, why won't they take American lobster?
07:53They do.
07:54They didn't for a while, but now they do.
07:55They don't.
07:56They don't.
07:57They don't.
07:58They don't.
07:59They don't.
08:00They don't.
08:01They don't.
08:02They don't.
08:03They don't.
08:04Because Downing Street said they're going to start, if they change their trade policy,
08:05they're going to start having lobster dinners in Downing Street.
08:06So that's what they told me.
08:07So the point is, let's let American workers succeed and prosper.
08:12Let's build factories in America.
08:14Let's let us export to the world.
08:16You can't really fight with the United States.
08:18We are the customer of the world.
08:20Let me just follow up with you.
08:21And by the way, in August 2020, the EU did agree to eliminate tariffs on fresh and frozen
08:24American lobsters.
08:26Quick fact.
08:27Quick fact up there.
08:28But hold on.
08:29Hold on.
08:30No, no, no.
08:31It's not tariffs.
08:32It's non-tariff trade barriers.
08:33Okay.
08:34Fine.
08:35I understand what you're saying there.
08:36Come on.
08:37Remember, they wouldn't let, Korea wouldn't let French fries come in.
08:38I understand.
08:39Hold on.
08:40Secretary, I understand.
08:41Let me just follow up, because I want to just be very clear here.
08:42Because allies and adversaries alike are looking at everything you're saying right now about
08:45whether there's room to negotiate on these tariffs before they announce what they're
08:48going to do.
08:49What I hear from you is that there isn't room for negotiation.
08:52Is that right?
08:53There is room.
08:54You said the president won't back off.
08:56I said it clearly.
08:57Okay.
08:58The president is not going to back off.
08:59So he's not going to back off on what he announced yesterday.
09:01That's cemented.
09:02He is not going to back off.
09:03He is not backing off.
09:04Nothing could change that.
09:05But countries can fix their tariffs, their non-tariff trade barriers, which are much,
09:12much rougher.
09:13That's right.
09:14The story I was trying to tell you is that when we took cars from Korea in 2012, when
09:19I grew up, there was no Korean cars in America.
09:21When we took cars from Korea, the deal was we could sell ag to Korea.
09:26That was the deal.
09:27They wouldn't let McDonald's bring in French fries because they couldn't prove the origin
09:30of the French fry.
09:32That is not a tariff.
09:34That is called a non-tariff trade barrier.
09:36They take their taxes and they subsidize their steel industry or they subsidize their energy
09:41or they give the tax back to their car manufacturer.
09:45This stuff has got to stop.
09:47America's got to stop being exploited and you're going to see America prosper.
09:51And then, and only then, will Donald Trump make a deal with each country when they've
09:56really, really changed their ways.
09:59Then they go sit with him.
10:00So it sounds like he might back off down the road, but not right now.
10:02That's not back off.
10:03And that's not back off.
10:05That is let the deal maker make his deals when and only if these countries can change
10:10everything about themselves, which I doubt they will because the that is the that.
10:16So he is willing to negotiate with these countries right now or if they decide to look.
10:20Negotiate is talking.
10:21No talking.
10:22Doing.
10:23These countries have abused us and exploited us, as he said yesterday.
10:26They need to change their ways.
10:27All right.
10:28Let me follow up with you.
10:29Let's see them change their ways.
10:30It's going to be a long time.
10:32Let's see what they do.
10:34Not talking.
10:35Talking is nonsense.
10:36Let me follow up because the Germany's economic minister says President Trump will quote, buckle
10:40under pressure if Europe hits back.
10:43Given the president's history of making threats and then backing off, why should foreign leaders
10:48think he'll stand firm this time?
10:50Donald Trump is going to stand firm because he is reordering global trade.
10:58Make no mistake about it.
11:00America has been exploited and he is done allowing America to be exploited.
11:05And no amount of the exploiters trying to swing harder at us after they've exploited
11:10us for all these years is going to change Donald Trump's view.
11:13What they can do is they can stop exploiting us.
11:17How about try that?
11:18And the arrogance of saying I've taken advantage of you for decades and not only saying I understand
11:25that you're fixing it, I'm disappointed that the gig is up and I can't take advantage of
11:29you anymore.
11:30Right.
11:31And I'm disappointed instead if you're angry and you fight back to the greatest customer
11:35in the world, you're going to lose.
11:37We are the sumo wrestler of this world.
11:40We are the biggest economy, the biggest customer.
11:44You can't fight back against your customer.
11:47Very quickly, the dollar is weakening.
11:48Is that part of the strategy here?
11:50As you know, some economists say that is what the administration is trying to do here, weaken
11:53the dollar.
11:54Donald Trump called out currency manipulation.
11:57Technically, right, you would think the dollar would rally on this kind of thing.
12:01But why is it falling?
12:02Because Donald Trump said stop manipulating your currency.
12:06Do you want it to fall?
12:07If the world stops manipulating the currency, right, then the dollar gets cheaper.
12:11Our ability to export is better.
12:14It's easier.
12:15Our people.
12:16So this is part of the strategy.
12:17Well, stop manipulating, right?
12:18The dollar was just bolstered up by these economies because they were faking it.
12:23It's got to stop.
12:24We need to be treated fairly.
12:26Thank God we've got Donald Trump in the White House.
12:28He's finally going to treat America fairly.
12:30He's going to finally treat American workers fairly.
12:33This is the biggest change you're ever going to see because you have the right guy in the
12:36White House doing the right things, protecting American workers.
12:39So it is true.
12:40It's a strategy to weaken the dollar.
12:41It's not a strategy to weaken the dollar.
12:42But it's part of the plan.
12:43It's part of the plan.
12:44It is not a plan.
12:45We don't have a plan about the dollar.
12:47We have a plan about American workers.
12:49We have a plan about American factories.
12:51And these are all outcomes of stop manipulating your, stop you manipulating our currency.
12:57Stop it.
12:58And if that means the dollar goes back to where it should be because you've stopped
13:00manipulating it, I don't know, it makes sense to me.